Swedbank AB Buys 8,687 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 206,073 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,687 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $17,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5,533.3% during the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 338 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 37,800.0% in the second quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Principal Financial Group

In related news, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.04, for a total transaction of $160,470.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 81,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,924,041.84. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE PFG opened at $89.38 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $84.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.91 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $92.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.12. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.05 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $93.00 price objective on Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.70.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

Principal Financial Group, commonly known as Principal, is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The firm provides a broad range of retirement, investment management and insurance solutions for individual, employer and institutional clients. Its core businesses include retirement plan services and recordkeeping, asset management, and life and disability insurance, supported by distribution through employers, financial advisors and direct channels.

On the retirement side, Principal offers 401(k) and other workplace retirement plans, individual retirement accounts and annuity products designed to help clients accumulate and manage retirement savings.